


Misery's Child

by CrystalNavy



Category: One Piece
Genre: Amnesia, Bigotry & Prejudice, Dragon is the best dad ever, Families of Choice, Family Drama, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Gen, Hurt one of us and you hurt all of us, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Nobles look down on everyone, Overprotective, Social Class differences, Team Bonding, Team Dynamics, Team as Family, That's why we're here, The Government is fucked up, With One Exception, and we shall react accordingly, as do they all, he values his kids, illness recovery, outcasts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-02
Updated: 2018-11-04
Packaged: 2019-08-16 18:09:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16500227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrystalNavy/pseuds/CrystalNavy
Summary: Even though he stands at the top now, the journey of getting there wasn't easy. In fact, it was anything but. But with the help of his friends, he overcame all the hardships and all the obstacles he had to face.





	1. In Recovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One thing is for sure. In the infirmary, Naire is a force to be reckoned with. This lesson is learned by her patients and other members alike, the hard way.

For the first two months or so of his stay there, they treated him like he was made of glass, fragile and delicate. He resented that. Sure, he had a near-death experience, but all this coddling was redundant as far as he was concerned.

On the third morning of his stay there, Dragon came into the room, with Naire, Revolutionary army's doctor. His cloak followed behind him.

"Sabo, this is Naire, our doctor. There is nothing in the world she couldn't patch up." Dragon said with a hint of pride 

"Oh, you flatter me, Boss." Naire blushed slightly, before straightening up "Now, how about we take a look?"

Dragon fled the room at this point, while Naire pulled out several evil-looking instruments out of her bag.

"First thing's first, how are you feeling today?" Naire inquired "I'd assume you aren't feeling that well."

"You'd be right." Sabo said dryly "I was nearly blown up, and I can't imagine it would have good effects on my health."

Naire nodded, and proceeded to poke and prod him with various tools she had at her disposal.

And through the whole procedure, Sabo kept looking away, not wanting to witness the whole ordeal himself. 

A light beam shone into his left eye, then into his right.

"Your left eye seems weaker than your right, in the overall sense." Naire jotted something down in her clipboard "In addition, you have third-degree burns which would probably take a while to recover from. Frankly, you are lucky to be alive. Those assholes knew exactly what they were doing. You'll be staying in that bed for at least four months, and are hereby on strict restrictions. I'll inform all the personnel about what they are. Deviating from them is strictly forbidden for both you and the rest of my compatriots."

-x-

"Good morning." Hack entered the room with the tray of food "I have brought you breakfast."

He placed the tray in front of Sabo, who began to eat slowly.

"Naire said you shouldn't eat solid food for the first two months." 

"Do you think I could fight." Sabo seemed hopeful

"Normally I would love letting someone fight." Hack said "But Naire would wring my neck if I let you fight in this decade, and I value having my head on my shoulders, so I'd have to say no."

Naire walked in at that moment. In her hands she held a pill container and a glass of water.

"Open wide!" she ordered cheerfully

And Sabo did, allowing her to force a pill down his throat, which he washed down with glass of water.

-x-

"We have visual on the subject." Hack spoke into the receiver "He is running away. What should we do, Dragon?"

"Stay calm." the leader instructed, even if he was sweating bullets "Tighten the net around the target. Corner him, and make sure he would unable to escape. Don't forget that our lives are on the line here."

Sabo peeked around the corner. The enemy agents were moving in random patterns, and he felt dread rolling down his spine. And then it clicked. They were sealing off any possible escape routes, and once they did that, they would spring their trap. They would capture him. His mouth went dry at this realization.

He looked down at the mint hospital gown that he was still wearing. His eyes shone with newfound determination. He wouldn't be returning to that place. Which meant that getting captured by enemy agents was not an option.

He peeked again, and he saw a familiar Fishman converse with two others, making wild gestures. Finally, each of them went down the separate corridor. He turned around and looked down the corridor going into the opposite direction. As expected, two more enemy agents were there. They were tightening their net around him.

Normally, he would have been thrilled, but there was too much at stake at this moment. He wouldn't allow the enemy agents to have their way with him.

"We're ready, Dragon-san." Hack's voice came again

"Good." Dragon's voice replied "Then capture the target."

He observed all four corridors. There were two enemy agents in each, and they were moving towards the center.

Towards his location.

He cursed inwardly. He whirled around even as he felt a heavy palm land on his back.

"Target captured." he heard Kuma speak into the receiver.

"Good." Dragon spoke, relived "Bring him here."

And he felt himself being thrown over Kuma's shoulder and carried back to the infirmary.

It was not fair. Freedom was so close, and yet he failed to achieve it yet again.

Then he was strapped to the bed on Naire's orders, making it impossible for him to escape.

"Sorry." Dragon apologized, even though he didn't look or sound sorry at all "But you have to understand that this was for your own good."

Sabo said nothing at this, even as he watched Dragon leave. Maybe Dragon was right. Maybe they really wanted what was best for him. They were like a well-meaning family in his eyes, with Dragon being the stern, but caring father.

Not that he would admit this out loud.


	2. Decaying core

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> His kind looks down on everyone, but many hate his kind in turn, and he bears the brunt of that hatred. Fortunately, he has someone to turn to.

It started out with small things.

Sabo noticed that many of his things had vanished without a trace during the span of few weeks. At first, he paid it no heed, but over time, the disappearances started to happen more and more frequently. And so, he decided to say something about it. However, he also knew that not everyone would, or could, help him. So he decided to confide to one person who would listen: Dragon-san himself. 

That was why he was standing in front of his leader's room, and doubts began to fester in his mind. What if Dragon scolds him for bothering him about something so trivial? What if he was rejected by the only person who was willing to listen to him? These thoughts made him want to turn away then and there. And he would have done exactly that too. But then Lillie, one of Dragon's personal assistant, appeared, with a tray filled with refreshments, including Dragon's morning coffee. She waved at Sabo, cheerfully. Like usual, she treated him to a honey-cake, which was his personal favorite.

"You seem a bit down." Lillie observed "Is something the matter?"

"Some of my personal possession have been disappearing." Sabo admitted "I wanted to try and talk to Dragon-san about that, but I am scared he'd get mad because I'm bothering him about this....."

"You don't need to worry about that." Lillie smiled "We who reside here are a family. Dragon-san is our father, and he supports all of us in our troubles. In fact, he fights for us. We were all wronged by the Government is some way. He also has a soft spot for those who are actually children, like you or Koala. I can accompany you when you go inside."

Sabo nodded, grateful for her encouragement. He took a deep breath, then he raised his hand and knocked.

"Come in." Dragon's voice sounded from the other end.

Lillie pushed the door open, allowing her and Sabo to enter, pushing the tray inside at the same time.

Dragon turned around to observe the two of them with scrutinizing stare.

"To what do I owe the honor?" he finally asked

"We came here together." Lillie explained "He wants to talk to you about a certain occurrence."

"Yes." Sabo continued "I......several of my things have disappeared over the last couple of weeks."

"I'll look into it." Dragon promised.

"Well, that'll be all." Lillie interjected, placing a cuff of coffee onto Dragon's working desk "May we take our leave?"

"You may." Dragon permitted, with a small smile

"See, that wasn't half bad." Lillie remarked once they were in the corridor again 

"I guess it wasn't." Sabo said reluctantly

-x-

Lillie watched as Sabo's room door closed. She had insisted on accompanying him to his room, and she refused to take 'no' for an answer. Now, her eyes were narrowed. Dragon-san said he would look into it, but there was nothing stopping Lillie from doing some investigating on her own. She had joined the Revolutionary Army after her own child was sold into slavery, and died as a slave. Lillie never got to see, or hold, her child again. She had gotten over it, mostly, but she still viewed those who harm children as the worst kind of scum.

She strolled down the corridor with her tray, providing refreshments for those who required them. Then, a conversation caught her attention.

"I am telling you, Calvin. Those Nobles need to be taught a lesson. They look down upon us, and they can do whatever the hell they please, at the expense of us ordinary folk. Their ilk has no place here. They are a disease that infects the rest of us. My whole village was destroyed on a whim of a Noble. I am no longer satisfied with just nabbing some things. I think we need to send a stronger message. Our message. That stinkin' Nobles aren't welcome here."

"I agree, Jay." the other occupant of the room laughed 

Lillie's eyes narrowed at this. She knocked on the door, maintaining her composure. When Calvin opened the door, she threw the scalding coffee into his face. He howled in pain when it hit.

"Your affairs aren't my business, generally speaking." she whispered "But if you try to harm a child, especially for something they didn't do, or have no knowledge of, then it is my business. This is merely a warning. Should you try to do something like this again, I will notify Dragon-san, and you'll be the ones who won't be welcome here anymore."

-x-

When Lillie saw Sabo next, he suffered from multiple injuries, including a broken leg and an injured skull.

"Did they do this?" she asked as soon as she saw

"Yes." Sabo admitted, reluctantly "They told me that they would kill me if I told anyone."

"You don't have to worry about that." Lillie assured him with a smile "I made all of these for you."

She gave him a box of honeycakes, and he gave her a delighted grin.


	3. First mission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He was supposed to check several disturbances in nearby country. It was an easy task, which was probably why it was his first mission. That's why he wasn't prepared for it to go awry.

It was a tradition in the Revolutionary Army that whenever the newest recruit is ready, they were assigned their first mission, in order to learn the ropes and get acclimated. They were also given a small cell to help if things get awry.

And it was his turn. 

He was to check the strange happenings in the nearby country. One of their intelligence agents found out about it, and informed them. The cell assigned to assist him was composed of Naire, Hack and Kuma, and he knew all three of them very well. Despite his rough appearance, Kuma was suprisingly gentle, and everybody in the Revolutionary Army knew this. 

Which made the fate he and Dragon had planned even sadder. In ten years, Kuma's whole soul - the very thing that made him who he was - would be gone. He would forget every single one of them, every single one of his compatriots. The thought was heart-wrenching

"We're here." a voice informed

Sabo was jolted out of his thoughts. He took his pouch, and his pipe, and his feet stepped onto the dry land. Hack and Kuma followed, while Naire opted to remain on the ship, so that she could offer immediate assistance should any of them need it.

"We'll be separating here. Good luck." Kuma announced

Sabo nodded, and each of them went in three separate directions. Two tall buildings stood in front of him, and he quickly docked behind one. His job was to listen to the locals talking, and try to glean as much information as he could from their conversations. 

"I am telling you, it would be easy, Kassu." a female voice spoke "The Governor is vain, and he won't suspect something like this."

"What if he does?" Kassu insisted "I don't want to lose you, Lisseth."

"I am the leader of rebellion." Lisseth said dryly "You'll lose me sooner or later, and I shall die in service of our people. The Governor is stealing our life's blood away from us, and only when he is deposed can we be happy."

Sabo had heard enough. He thought about the Nobles back home, the class he was born into, and how they were the reason that the rest of populace had to eat scraps to survive, while they hoarded everything.

And the flame within him awakened.

That night, he used his skills, refined by the Revolutionary Army, to sneak into the Governor's bedroom, and killed him in his sleep. He then sneaked away just as stealthily as he had come.

He had forgotten that the world traveled fast, and pretty soon, the whole populace heard about the Governor's death.

And it didn't take anyone too long to figure out that he had done it.

And they threw a large-scale banquet in his honor.

The whole nation was invited.

Halfway through the meal, it dawned on him that this was supposed to be a covert mission.

He promptly fainted from shock.

-x-

When he woke up, the first thing he saw was Kuma, whose face was inches from his own.

"You gave us quite a scare." Kuma seemed amused

"That's Sabo for you!" Hack whistled "He never does anything by half."

And Sabo smiled, even though he knew he would be in for one hell of a scolding later.

Any punishment was worth it.


End file.
